During this visit, you should work with one or more groups of students if you haven't already, and observe your teacher doing the same. For this journal entry, describe your teacher's teaching style. What type of relationships with students does he or she nurture in his or her classes? How do students perceive that power is distributed in the classes? Does this vary within or across the different classes the teacher has? Cite examples from your observations to support your inferences. Remember to reflect on what style of teaching you will gravitate toward and the how you want to be perceived by your students.
Observations:
In class today i worked with 2 small groups of students. The project was to drop objects from the top of a stairwell and measure the time it took them to fall using a stopwatch. The group sizes consisted of approximately 2-3 students and one students was in charge of either the stopwatch or the object dropping. The objects being dropped were ball bearings approximately 3/4" diameter. The students were instructed to write down their data in table format and collect approximately 5 -10 reading and then take an average. The goal of this experiment was to find the final velocity of the object just before it makes contact with the ground. The formulas for the final velocity were given by my CT to the class on the board.
Reflections:
After observing my class i found that my teachers style of teaching was very relaxed. He let the students create their own groups and collect their materials in the back of the room. What i was most amazing of was how short of time this took the students to complete. Note: this class is a lower level senior class. After this was completed the teacher told the students to leave the room and head into the hallway and go to different stairwells around the school to begin the experiment. In his class he nurtures the fact that he trusts his students and that his students respect him enough to complete their assignments without causing any problems. What i did notice was the distribution of power in the classroom for his different classes. For instance, in the lower-level "hands-on" physics class for seniors the teacher still allows the students to be very relaxed, however in the physics 2 classes the students can practically walk around the classroom and play on the teacher's smartboard during class. But i think its fair to note that at no time does my CT ever lose control of the class beyond repair. I agree that my teacher's style is very useful at the higher level (and senior level) for high school. But, as i mention in my previous OR's; this style of classroom cannot simply be "walked-into". To develop a classroom atmosphere such as this may take years of experience and presience in the SAME school.
Class Topic: Free-fall & Final velocity
Grade: 2x12
Observed by: David Kenahan
During this visit, you should work with one or more groups of students if you haven't already, and observe your teacher doing the same. For this journal entry, describe your teacher's teaching style. What type of relationships with students does he or she nurture in his or her classes? How do students perceive that power is distributed in the classes? Does this vary within or across the different classes the teacher has? Cite examples from your observations to support your inferences. Remember to reflect on what style of teaching you will gravitate toward and the how you want to be perceived by your students.
Observations:
In class today i worked with 2 small groups of students. The project was to drop objects from the top of a stairwell and measure the time it took them to fall using a stopwatch. The group sizes consisted of approximately 2-3 students and one students was in charge of either the stopwatch or the object dropping. The objects being dropped were ball bearings approximately 3/4" diameter. The students were instructed to write down their data in table format and collect approximately 5 -10 reading and then take an average. The goal of this experiment was to find the final velocity of the object just before it makes contact with the ground. The formulas for the final velocity were given by my CT to the class on the board.Reflections:
After observing my class i found that my teachers style of teaching was very relaxed. He let the students create their own groups and collect their materials in the back of the room. What i was most amazing of was how short of time this took the students to complete. Note: this class is a lower level senior class. After this was completed the teacher told the students to leave the room and head into the hallway and go to different stairwells around the school to begin the experiment. In his class he nurtures the fact that he trusts his students and that his students respect him enough to complete their assignments without causing any problems. What i did notice was the distribution of power in the classroom for his different classes. For instance, in the lower-level "hands-on" physics class for seniors the teacher still allows the students to be very relaxed, however in the physics 2 classes the students can practically walk around the classroom and play on the teacher's smartboard during class. But i think its fair to note that at no time does my CT ever lose control of the class beyond repair. I agree that my teacher's style is very useful at the higher level (and senior level) for high school. But, as i mention in my previous OR's; this style of classroom cannot simply be "walked-into". To develop a classroom atmosphere such as this may take years of experience and presience in the SAME school.Class Topic: Free-fall & Final velocity
Grade: 2x12
Observed by: David Kenahan